Hurricane Kate (1985) - Meteorological History

Meteorological History

Before the formation of Hurricane Kate, there was a ridge located across the southeastern United States for much of the autumn of 1985, and concurrently a major trough persisted across the western portion of the country. As a result, weather conditions across the Gulf of Mexico and western Atlantic Ocean in November were more typical of the pattern in late September, including sea surface temperatures of 81 ºF (27 ºC). On November 13, a weak tropical wave began interacting with a trough to the northeast of the Lesser Antilles. It gradually organized with the favorable conditions, and on November 15 a Hurricane Hunters flight into the area indicated the development of a tropical cyclone; as gale force winds were already present, the system was upgraded directly to Tropical Storm Kate, about 240 miles (385 km) northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

With a ridge to its north, Kate tracked westward after developing, and an upper-level low developed to the southwest of the storm. The combination of the two provided favorable outflow, allowing Kate to quickly intensify. On November 16, the storm attained hurricane status while moving through the southeastern Bahamas. After continued strengthening, Kate made landfall at 0600 UTC on November 19 over north-central Cuba with a well-defined eye. When it moved ashore, Kate had a pressure of 967 mbar (28.6 inHg) and winds of about 110 mph (180 km/h). The hurricane maintained its well-defined eye while moving across northern Cuba, and about 12 hours after making landfall, Kate emerged into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico just east of Havana. Over the next 24 hours, Kate re-intensified off the southwest coast of Florida, during which it passed about 85 mi (137 km) southwest of Key West. On November 20, the Hurricane Hunters observed winds as strong as 125 mph (201 km/h), and a buoy recorded a gust of 136 mph (219 km/h); this was the highest wind gust from a buoy in the Gulf of Mexico until Hurricane Lili in 2002. Based on the observations, it is estimated that Kate attained peak winds of about 120 mph (190 km/h) at around 1200 UTC on November 20.

Hurricane Kate maintained peak intensity for about 18 hours. On November 21, a cold front moving through the Mississippi Valley turned the hurricane to the north and northeast. The combination of cooler waters and wind shear from the front weakened Kate to an intensity of 100 mph (160 km/h) by the time the hurricane struck Crooked Island near Mexico Beach, Florida late on November 21. After landfall, Kate continued to the northeast, and it crossed into Georgia and weakened into a tropical storm. Kate emerged from North Carolina into the Atlantic Ocean late on November 22. Encountering even colder waters and continued shear, the storm weakened further while turning to the east-southeast. On November 23, Kate transitioned into an extratropical cyclone to the west of Bermuda, before dissipating shortly thereafter.

Until 2011, Kate was considered the second-latest hurricane landfall in the United States, only behind a storm in 1925 that struck on December 1; however, a reanalysis indicated the 1925 system was only a tropical storm, which made Kate the latest hurricane on record to hit the country. With Kate's landfall, the 1985 season had six hurricanes that struck the United States, only one behind the record of seven set in 1886.